An AI assistant which frees up doctors so they can spend more time with their patients is being trialled in the NHS.
The technology enables medics to listen to patients instead of typing up documents and letters – which the AI does for them.
The generative AI tech is being trialled across London, led by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH), with possible expansion to other regions.
Funded by NHS Frontline Digitisation, the trial will include about 5,000 patient assessments in hospitals, GP surgeries, A&E departments and mental health services.
The AI, called Tortus, uses ambient voice technology (a combination of speech recognition and artificial intelligence) to pick up relevant medical information from a conversation, while filtering out background noise and irrelevant chat.
It aims to cut down time that medics spend on administrative tasks by drafting notes, follow-up letters and suggests clinical codes, which are then checked by the doctor.
